Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical Engineering (BME) is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that integrates engineering and life sciences to solve problems associated with the human body and human health. Biomedical engineers combine engineering principles with medical and biological sciences to design and create materials and devices, computer systems, software and equipment for use in healthcare. Examples include orthopaedic implants, drug pumps, cardiac assist devices, and bio-engineered skin.

The curriculum in Biomedical Engineering is designed to give the student a thorough grounding in the basic sciences of biological and medical sciences, mathematics, physics, and chemistry, followed by a series of fundamental and applied courses in engineering. Apart from preparing students to work in the biomedical industry, the B.S. in Biomedical Engineering is an excellent foundation for graduate study in many fields, including the further study of biomedical engineering, and preparation for entry into professional schools, including medical school, dental school, veterinary school, and law school. Biomedical engineering students can choose to focus their course sequence on one of three emphasis areas:

Biomaterials. Biomaterials play an integral role in medicine today – restoring function and facilitating healing for people after injury or disease. Biomaterials may be natural or synthetic and are used in medical applications to support, enhance, or replace damaged tissue or a biological function. The modern field of biomaterials combines medicine, biology, physics, and chemistry. Students in this emphasis will take courses in mechanics of materials, biomedical materials, and immunology. This emphasis prepares students for careers in the biomedical device industry.

Sensors and Instrumentation. In medicine and biotechnology, biomedical sensors are used to detect specific biological, chemical, or physical processes, which then transmit or report the monitored data. These sensors can also be components in systems that process clinical samples, such as increasingly common lab-on-a-chip devices. This emphasis also encompasses medical imaging technologies that are used to view the human body in order to diagnose, monitor, or treat medical conditions. Students in this emphasis will take courses in digital devices, machine control, artificial intelligence (e.g. machine learning), and biological imaging. This emphasis prepares students for careers in the biomedical instrumentation and medical imaging industries.

Premedical. The Biomedical Engineering curriculum prepares students for acceptance into most medical, dental, and veterinary schools. Students completing this program have demonstrated their ability to tackle tough subjects, perform well under stressful conditions, work together in teams, learn new material, and achieve ambitious goals – characteristics desired by the best medical, dental, and veterinary schools.